Ko Tao to Krabi
Saturday (14 April) in Ko Tao - my last day - I hit the beach one last time before meeting up with Nile and Jill for dinner and then catching the night ferry from Ko Tao to Suratthani, Thailand on the mainland. I've met some really strange people on my trip and some really cool people too; many I'll forget, some I won't. I met another weird one on the boat ride Saturday night. Saskia, 19, from Belgium. Strange one. For the past ~11 months so many people have come and gone from my life its really a strange way to live now that I think about it. No familiar faces in a long, long time.
I didn't sleep that well on the ferry surprisingly - since I've learned to sleep anywhere, anyhow - as there was even a mat and pillow to sleep horizontally on. After several buses, transfers, and stops, eventually I made it to Ton Sai Beach near Krabi on Sunday (15 April) morning and found some cheap-ish accommodation. Accommodation was the only value on Ton Sai, every thing else was really over priced considering the beaches aren't technically islands, although you do have to take a boat to get there. Ton Sai, the beach where all the climbers hang out, was fairly dead compared to the last time I was there (on my previous trip). I spent the day watching climbers and re-exploring the beaches, and ever so passively, searching for a climbing partner. That amounted to lounging at a crag side restaurant watching climbers and talking to some one if they happened to sit down next to me. It was a slow process.
Monday (16 April) morning I did the bungalow shuffle again, and again went on my passive search of climbing partners. Some time during the afternoon it actually worked out and I lined up a partner for the following day. Toval, from Israel, had only climbed once before but was keen to climb again. A beginner was fine with me as I hadn't climbed in a year and wasn't looking to impress any hard core climbing chicks - of which there were plenty of - on overhanging limestone.....
Tuesday (17 April) after another bungalow shuffle, we had to wait until early afternoon for the tide to go out before we could make our way to the beginner crag. We had another friend of Toval's join us. It was hot and crowded so we climbed only a few routes before going for lunch and then calling it a short day. Not a very eventful climbing trip to Krabi, but honestly I just wasn't in the mood to climb overhanging limestone in the hot, humid, sweating-my-ass-off heat. We all went for dinner that evening along with a few other people we had met. It was a fun night.
Wednesday (18 April) I was getting a little fed up with the stagnant, hot, humid weather, mossies, ants, and over priced everything. So I booked my way out of Krabi for the following afternoon and spent the remainder of the day on the beach but in the shade.That evening we all went out for dinner again and then played "drinking Jinga" long into the night where the stakes increased with alcohol consumption.... Fools were made but embarrassing moments soon forgotten. Fun times.
Thursday (19 April) I just lounged around and read until it was time to catch the boat out of Krabi around 2 PM. Krabi didn't have the same drawl for me this time as it did the first time I was there. I met some cool, fun people and enjoyed the vibe of Ton Sai beach, but I really enjoyed Ko Tao more. The beaches really aren't as nice as I remember. But I didn't go there for the beach I remind myself. Finally I was north bound from Suratthani on a nice bus around 8 PM heading for my home in southeast Asia, Bangkok, to plan my next move.
I didn't sleep that well on the ferry surprisingly - since I've learned to sleep anywhere, anyhow - as there was even a mat and pillow to sleep horizontally on. After several buses, transfers, and stops, eventually I made it to Ton Sai Beach near Krabi on Sunday (15 April) morning and found some cheap-ish accommodation. Accommodation was the only value on Ton Sai, every thing else was really over priced considering the beaches aren't technically islands, although you do have to take a boat to get there. Ton Sai, the beach where all the climbers hang out, was fairly dead compared to the last time I was there (on my previous trip). I spent the day watching climbers and re-exploring the beaches, and ever so passively, searching for a climbing partner. That amounted to lounging at a crag side restaurant watching climbers and talking to some one if they happened to sit down next to me. It was a slow process.
Monday (16 April) morning I did the bungalow shuffle again, and again went on my passive search of climbing partners. Some time during the afternoon it actually worked out and I lined up a partner for the following day. Toval, from Israel, had only climbed once before but was keen to climb again. A beginner was fine with me as I hadn't climbed in a year and wasn't looking to impress any hard core climbing chicks - of which there were plenty of - on overhanging limestone.....
Tuesday (17 April) after another bungalow shuffle, we had to wait until early afternoon for the tide to go out before we could make our way to the beginner crag. We had another friend of Toval's join us. It was hot and crowded so we climbed only a few routes before going for lunch and then calling it a short day. Not a very eventful climbing trip to Krabi, but honestly I just wasn't in the mood to climb overhanging limestone in the hot, humid, sweating-my-ass-off heat. We all went for dinner that evening along with a few other people we had met. It was a fun night.
Wednesday (18 April) I was getting a little fed up with the stagnant, hot, humid weather, mossies, ants, and over priced everything. So I booked my way out of Krabi for the following afternoon and spent the remainder of the day on the beach but in the shade.That evening we all went out for dinner again and then played "drinking Jinga" long into the night where the stakes increased with alcohol consumption.... Fools were made but embarrassing moments soon forgotten. Fun times.
Thursday (19 April) I just lounged around and read until it was time to catch the boat out of Krabi around 2 PM. Krabi didn't have the same drawl for me this time as it did the first time I was there. I met some cool, fun people and enjoyed the vibe of Ton Sai beach, but I really enjoyed Ko Tao more. The beaches really aren't as nice as I remember. But I didn't go there for the beach I remind myself. Finally I was north bound from Suratthani on a nice bus around 8 PM heading for my home in southeast Asia, Bangkok, to plan my next move.
posted by Dustin at 11:04 PM
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